Malaysia Beat Singapore by 37 Runs — Virandeep Singh's 65 Not Out, Then 5 for 14

There are all-round performances, and then there are days when one man is simply the match. Virandeep Singh came in with Malaysia 40 for 2 in the third over, was still there at the end with 65 not out, and then bowled four overs for 14 runs and five wickets. Singapore, 42 without loss in reply to 149, were all out for 112.

Malaysia won by 37 runs. Twenty-four hours after their first win of the event, the hosts have a second, and the derby that was billed as a survival match has gone the way of the side that looked to be sinking a week ago.

Put in to bat, Malaysia began as they had finished against Maldives. Syed Aziz hit two fours in four balls, Nazmus Sakib four fours and a six in twelve, and the score was 40 inside three overs. Both were gone by then, though — Aziz caught behind off Pranav Sudarshan, Sakib caught by Suryansh Gulecha off Harsh Venkataram — and the innings changed character. Aslam Khan and Muhamad Syahadat managed eight runs from 22 balls between them, and at halfway Malaysia were 73 for 4.

What followed was the innings that decided the match. Virandeep Singh and Aqeel Wahid added 58 in 51 balls for the fifth wicket, not spectacular but unbroken until the 19th over, when Wahid was caught by Gulecha for 29. Virandeep, who had made 28 of that stand, then hit 15 of the 18 that came in the last nine balls with Sharvin Muniandy. Five fours, two sixes, 65 not out from 52 balls, and 149 for 5 from a position that had looked like 120.

Then he bowled. Singapore's openers had put on 42 by the sixth over when Virandeep had Surendran Chandramohan caught behind by Sakib, and after Vijay Unni had Riaan Naik stumped he bowled Manpreet Singh, Singapore's match-winner from the day before, at 65 for 3. His last three wickets came in the 19th over — Harsh Venkataram, Jeevan Santhanam and Pranav Sudarshan, all caught by the substitute Azri Azhar — and the innings ended with him on 5 for 14. With Madhukar's 4-0-15-2 at the other end, the two of them bowled eight overs for 29 runs and seven wickets.

There is no shame in the bowling. Singapore chose to field, and for 17 of the 20 overs their attack kept Malaysia to a manageable rate: Akshay Puri's four overs cost 15 again, Jeevan Santhanam's 19, and Venkataram took two wickets in two overs. Gulecha held three catches. A total of 149 was gettable, and at 42 without loss after five overs, Gulecha and Chandramohan had made it look so.

The chase came apart in the middle. Chandramohan was caught behind, Riaan Naik — Sunday's top scorer — was stumped by Sakib off Unni for 8 from 14, Manpreet was bowled, and Gulecha, who had two sixes in his 32, was caught by Virandeep off Madhukar. From 42 for 0 Singapore were 73 for 5 in the 13th over, five wickets for 31 runs, and the required rate had done the rest. Venkataram's 25 from 18 with two sixes kept them in touch, but 89 for 6 in the 16th over was already too far away, and the last three wickets fell for three runs. A day after the squeeze they put on China, Singapore found themselves on the other end of one. Their net run rate has dropped from +0.133 to -0.363, and that is the cost that may linger.

Singapore chose to field at the Bayuemas Oval. Malaysia's first 16 balls brought 40 runs and the remaining 104 brought 109, which suggests a surface that was easiest at the very start and rewarded bowlers who hit a length thereafter. The three most economical bowlers in the match — Virandeep 3.50 an over, Puri 3.75, Madhukar 3.75 — gave almost nothing to drive, and the two sixes Gulecha and Venkataram each hit were the exceptions to a chase in which boundaries were hard-won. Sakib's stumping of Naik, and the three catches that went to the substitute Azri Azhar in one over, say something about how often the batters were drawn into shots that were not quite there.

Against Maldives on Sunday he had bowled four overs for 13 and a wicket and was quietly overshadowed by Pavandeep's four and Syed Aziz's fury. Here there was nobody to share the stage with. He walked in at 40 for 2 in the third over and was still there 17 overs later; he came on to bowl and took the first wicket, the third, and then three in five balls to close the innings. 65 not out and 5 for 14 in the same T20 international. Cricket does not hand out many days like that, and when it does it tends to hand them to the man who was simply still there when everyone else had gone.

Our preview, written on October 10 before either side had played their third match, did not commit to a winner. It called Singapore the better-placed side on form and the table, and Malaysia the more desperate side at home, and left it there. Honesty requires saying that this is a hedge, and that the part of it which leaned Singapore was wrong: Malaysia won by 37 runs, and by the time the match started they were no longer winless, having beaten Maldives the day before.

The players to watch did not fare well either. We named Vijay Unni for Malaysia for his middle-overs acceleration with the bat; he did not bat, though his four overs cost 23 and brought Naik's wicket. We named Manpreet Singh for Singapore as the man to anchor the innings; he made 3 from 9 balls and was bowled by Virandeep, and his 4-0-26-1 was a tidy day rather than a decisive one. We also mentioned Ahmad Faiz, Syazrul Idrus, Tim David and Janak Prakash as possible contributors; none of the four appears on the scorecard. The one man we did not single out, Virandeep Singh, won the match on his own. We will take that as a lesson in humility.

After four rounds of Qualifier B, Saudi Arabia are unbeaten on eight points (net run rate +2.257) and cannot be caught at the top. Hong Kong, whose match against Maldives was not completed, are second on five (+2.657). Malaysia and Singapore both have four, but the derby has reversed their order: Malaysia (+1.665) are third and Singapore (-0.363) fourth. Maldives have three (-0.842) and China (-4.924) none.

Each side has one match left. Our preview framed this derby as a battle for third, and that is exactly where Malaysia now sit — though with Hong Kong a point ahead, Singapore level, and Maldives one behind, the last round will settle more than it has left alone. For a side that was zero from two on home soil a week ago, that is a remarkable place to be.